I shook myself. “Nothing,” I told him, moving toward the fallen soldier. Ember had had to silence him, no question, but we still had to deal with him. Last thing we needed was for him to wake up and alert the rest of the base. “Small problem. It’s been dealt with,” I continued, kneeling beside the human and reaching into a compartment on my belt. “How’s the unlocking the door part coming along?”

“What are you doing, Riley?” Ember asked suddenly, watching me with wary green eyes. “You…you’re not going to kill him, are you?”

I shook my head, showing her the plastic zip ties I pulled from my belt, though I found it a little ironic. Had Ember been a full Viper, I doubted this human would be alive. And I wasn’t going to snap his neck or slit his throat while he lay there, helpless. Even though I hated the bastards, and would gladly blast him to cinders if I had to, I wasn’t a killer. Not like them.

Wes’s voice continued to buzz in my ear. “I can get the door open,” he said as I pulled the soldier’s arms behind him and zip-tied his wrists together. “But if I start blacking out cameras, they might get suspicious. Best I can give you is a thirty-second feedback loop, but you’ll have to get inside before the feed goes normal again. Think you can do that?”

I gagged the human with the roll of duct tape in my belt, then heaved the unconscious body over my shoulder. He hung like a sack of potatoes—a heavy, well-muscled sack of potatoes. “Do it,” I grunted, staggering toward a Dumpster we’d crouched behind a moment ago. “Just give us fifteen seconds. Ember, get the cover, will you?”

She scurried to the Dumpster and pushed up the lid, releasing the stench of old milk, rotting things and decay. I probably shouldn’t have felt so spitefully pleased as I dropped the body between reeking sacks of garbage and closed the top, but I did.

At the bottom of the steps, we hung back in the shadows, watching the door and the camera up top. “Gimme a moment,” Wes muttered as I drummed my fingers against my knee, feeling highly exposed. Another soldier could come waltzing around the corner anytime. We might’ve gotten lucky once; twice would be pushing it. “All right,” Wes finally said. “In ten seconds, the camera will go off and the door will unlock. Both will happen almost simultaneously, so you’ll have to get up there fast. Ready?”

“Yeah,” I muttered, feeling Ember tense beside me.

“Then…go! Now!”

I burst forward and raced up the steps, not daring to look at the camera peering down at me with its soulless black eye. My fingers closed on the handle just as there was a soft beep, and the light above the key-card slit turned green. Wrenching open the door, I motioned Ember inside, then ducked over the threshold myself. The door closed, shutting behind us with a soft click that seemed to echo down the long, brightly lit corridor ahead.

We were inside St. George HQ.

Now the real fun began.

Ember

I should probably be terrified.

I was pretty nervous. I was inside the St. George complex, surrounded by a whole army of dragonslayers who’d kill me without a second thought if they knew I was here. We still had to find Garret and somehow sneak him out without being discovered. And that close call with the soldier…my nerves were still singing, my hands shaking with adrenaline. I hadn’t even thought. I’d just seen him and…boom, he was on the ground. Would I do that again? Could I do that again, if I had to?

Was this what my trainer meant when she said I’d be an amazing Viper?

I pushed those thoughts away. Focus, Ember. Find Garret. That’s why we’re here.

“Where to now?” I whispered to Riley.

He huddled against the wall, speaking softly into his wire. “Wes, we’re in.” A few seconds passed with Riley listening to whatever the human was saying. Finally, he nodded. “Right,” he muttered. “Heading there now.”

“Did he find Garret?” I asked.

“No,” Riley answered, making my heart sink. “But he’s jacked into the security system and says that there’s a prison floor somewhere below us. If your human is scheduled for execution in a couple hours, that’s where he’s going to be.” Riley cast a wary look down the corridor. “There are still guards wandering about. Be careful.”

I nodded, and we started down the hall, which at this time of night was empty and deserted, but way too bright for comfort. Doors lined the corridor, most of them closed, but a few sat open, showing office-type rooms with desks and computers. I wondered what the soldiers and officers of St. George did when they weren’t killing dragons. It was hard to picture them doing normal things like checking email and IMing with friends.

As I passed yet another office door, a glint of metallic red caught my eye. And, for some reason, the hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up. I paused just outside the door and peeked in, letting my eyes adjust to the dim light. At first glance, it seemed like just another office, with standard office furniture: chairs, metal cabinet, giant desk in the center. Nothing strange or out of place…until I saw where that faint glimmer was coming from. For a second, I frowned, not knowing what I was looking at.

Then it hit me like a punch to the stomach, and bile surged up my throat, burning the inside of my mouth. I was frozen, unable to look away, unable to do anything but stare at what lay through the door.

On the wall above the desk, spanning nearly corner to corner, hung the hide of a small red dragon. I could see the long elegant neck, the lighter belly scales, the curved black talons still attached to the feet. Its scales were a darker red than mine, almost rust colored, and it had thin stripes down its back and tail. From its size, it had been a hatchling at the time of its death, my age or younger. At one time, this lifeless skin had been a dragon, just like me. And now…now it was a trophy decorating someone’s office.